Make-up looks in two minutes flat

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Hands up who has the time to perfect a full-face of make-up? No, me either. But everyone has a couple of minutes, right? Just a smudge here, a blot there, to make you look ready for the day ahead or before an important meeting. Here, readers, I will share with you my recipe cards on the make-up looks I turn to on a daily basis, and the products in my make-up bag. Enjoy!

The Method: Make-up artists always say you should begin with your eye make-up first, and then apply your base, but I always do it the other way around - and this make-up doesn’t involve any complex eyeshadows so there’s no chance of it dropping and ruining your base. So once concealed around the eye area, draw a line of the eyeshadow stick across the eyeline, and smudge up to the crease of your eye with your ring finger. Apply a little stroke of it on the bottom eyeline, too.

Using the brown eyeliner, draw a line across the top lash line and the bottom, making sure the lines meet at the outer corner of the eyes. Using the cotton bud, softly blend the line. If you want more of a cat-eye look, smudge the liner a little from the corners of the eye up towards the temples. Half a centimetre is enough.

Using the black eyeliner, enhance the liner by the outer corners - you don’t need to draw all around the eyes again, this is just to give the eye more density and depth. If you want a more sultry look, draw in your waterline, too.

Finally apply two coats of mascara, on the top and bottom lashes. I just keep going until my lashes look full and voluminous.
THE TWO MINUTE STATEMENT LIP

The Method:
Like with eye make-up, you need to make sure the skin around your lips looks even and concealed where necessary, as a bright colour will only draw attention to any blemishes. I have hereditary pigmentation on either side of my chin (er, attractive) so I always pay attention to that when concealing.

Next, you need to make sure your lips are in tip-top condition and clean of any other product before you apply any colour, so gently brush away any dry, flaky skin with a piece of kitchen paper.

Apply a dab of the lip balm to the lips, not forgetting the inner corners of the mouth.

With a sharp lip liner, trace the line of the lips, paying particular attention to the cupids bow, the corners of the mouth and the middle of the bottom lip.

Using the bullet of the lipstick directly, apply a coat of lipstick top and bottom, staying within the confines of the lip line. Blot with some kitchen paper and repeat.

The Method: You know when at the end of the day your skin just looks a bit 'bleurgh'? Yes, that's me, every day at 5pm. If your skin needs a pick-me-up too, first spritz with a fine mist to get a boost of hydration back into the skin. Be careful not to overload, though, as you don't want to look like you've been hit with a hosepipe.

Then dot a concealing brush with product under the eye, but not too close to the bottom lash line: dot along the eye contour and blend. It will look far more natural. For me, five dots does the trick.

Finally swish a blusher brush into a brightening powder, and pop onto the apples of the cheeks. A pinky-coral is eternally flattering and with golden undertones will help to brighten and warm the complexion.